1870,1914, 2022 Suspension and Lost Interurban Bridges over Brazos River in Waco, TX

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; HAER; Satellite, 7,587 photos. The piers of the truss bridge are just west of the suspension bridge.)

Bridges Now and Then posted
A look at Waco, Texas' Suspension and Interurban Rail Bridges, 1913. (Waco Texas History)

Joe Breeden: May sound 'corny', but it would be nice to have '''time travel'' to go back & watch the construction of those structures & travel across them too

Street View, Nov 2016
Dennis DeBruler commented on Joe's comment

You can still cross the suspension bridge. https://maps.app.goo.gl/ftYT5wKmnKvCQfb7A

Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/XSwAFcvpKF15KZNC6

"Significance: When completed in 1869, the 475'-0" [145m] long Waco Suspension Bridge was the state's first major suspension bridge. The first bridge to span the Brazos River, it originally featured two castellated pink brick towers. The span opened as a toll bridge on January 7,1870. Its toll houses feature stepped gable roofs, parapets, and round arched openings." [HAER_data]

HAER TEX,155-WACO,1--23 (CT)

In the foreground, we can see the three piers of the lost interurban bridge. The left pier has been painted and a lookout was built on top of it.

Rick Benz, Jan 2021

The sculpture on the south side is called "Branding the Brazos."

Street View, Jul 2023

HistoricBridges
"This bridge was one of the largest suspension bridge spans in the world when the original structure was completed in late 1869/early 1870. In 1913/1914, most of the original bridge structure was replaced, including the cables and stiffening trusses. As such, a 1914 construction date can easily be argued to be more appropriate for this bridge. The large brick towers appear to be the only major remnant of the original bridge and even they appear to be substantially altered from the original design."